Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, being investigated in a money-laundering case, can travel abroad if he deposits Rs 1 crore, the Supreme Court said today.
He has been allowed to travel between today and November 21. Earlier this year, he was asked to deposit Rs 2 crore for travelling abroad.
Karti Chidambaram is facing criminal cases related to the Aircel-Maxis deal and is accused of helping INX Media access Rs 305 crore in foreign funds by facilitating Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance in 2007, when his father, P Chidambaram, was Union Finance Minister. The cases are being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Enforcement Directorate, told the Supreme Court that Karti Chidambaram had not cooperated in the investigation and did not respond appropriately to summons.
Mr Mehta was making a case for Karti Chidambaram, a Congress MP from Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga, to be barred from flying abroad.
The Supreme Court, however, allowed, for the time being, Karti Chidambaram to travel abroad. The court also directed the Enforcement Directorate to file an affidavit on its allegations against Karti and said "that aspect can be dealt with in detail after affidavit is filed".
Karti Chidambaram had deposited Rs 10 crore as security the first time he was granted permission to travel abroad.
In March 2018, Karti Chidambaram was arrested at the Chennai airport minutes after his flight from London landed.
CBI officials had claimed he was not cooperating with the investigation and wanted to keep him in custody and question him. Karti was released on bail after 22 days in Delhi's Tihar jail.
Karti's father P Chidambaram was also jailed for more than 100 days in Tihar in 2019.
